Reel World

By Devin D. O’Leary

Show For Sale

Albuquerque-based artist/massage therapist/talk show host Scott Conner recently wrapped up production on the first season of his eponymous TV show. The show features a mixture of Albuquerque-based improv comedians and local celebrities. Conner plans to start taping the second season of the talk/variety show in January and is hoping to go nationwide by selling the syndication/distribution rights on eBay.

Conner isn’t actually the first person to try to sell a TV show or movie on the website. Dozens have gone down a similar path. The last one listed on eBay was “a reality show that is so incredible it has been looked at and offers have been made by 4 production companies.” Unfortunately, that show attracted no bites on its $1,000,000 opening bid. As of press time, “The Scott Conner Show” is doing slightly better, with two bids driving the price up to $5,100. Conner’s reserve price has not been met, however. If you’re interested in owning your very own TV show, an “innovative formula for a highly successful new brand of late night entertainment,” you have until Thursday, Dec. 6, to get your bid in. Just do a search for “The Scott Conner Show” on eBay.

Casting Call

Not Forgotten is a feature film gearing up to shoot in Santa Fe between the months of January and March 2008. Simon Baker (Land of the Dead) and Jordana Brewster (The Fast and the Furious) have been cast in the lead roles of this psychological thriller by Director Dror Soref. (Soref’s past résumé includes directing Weird Al Yankovic’s “I Love Rocky Road” video.) Baker will play a bank manager in a U.S.-Mexico border town haunted by the disappearance of his daughter. Casting Directors Angelic Midthunder (principal casting) and David Cordova (background casting) are looking for all different types of people for both principal and background roles. The production is in need of all age groups, from 1 to 100, to play major roles. Primarily, they are looking for Mexican/American or Spanish-American men, women and children. Not Forgotten is looking for interesting and distinctive “real” looks. If you wanna get in on this action, please send info, including résumé and photo, to: “David Cordova, New Mexico Talent Casting, Not Forgotten Movie, 1505 Kachina Ridge Drive, Santa Fe, N.M. 87507” or e-mail to: nfcasting@gmail.com.

Striking Details

The effects of the Writers’ Guild strike have already been felt in TV Land. Now the movie industry is starting to suffer the consequences. Several high-profile films that were about to begin production have been postponed for at least six months. Mira Nair’s overseas drama Shantaram starring Johnny Depp, Rob Marshall’s musical Nine starring Javier Bardem and Penélope Cruz, and Ron Howard’s The DaVinci Code sequel Angels & Demons are all now on the backburner. The strike prevents anyone from altering or rewriting a script on set, a development that worries many producers.